The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Rebecca Miller

Although we're all taught not to judge a book by its cover, I generally do and decided that this novel looked like suitable holiday reading based on the cover picture and the recommendation from the Richard & Judy Book Club. Once I started reading the book, I actually stopped after a few pages and had to double-check the front cover and the comments on the back as it certainly didn't seem to be the sort of story that I'd been expecting. The story actually starts with the principal character, Pippa Lee, moving into a retirement village with her eighty year old husband, Herb. This certainly didn't seem the storyline in keeping with the attractive young woman ...  Read the complete review

A slow start almost made me leave the novel unfinished. It took me a while to get into the story, perhaps it needed something a little more exciting at the beginning than moving into a retirement community. However, once the novel got underway it became much more readable and enjoyable. Looking at the actors/actresses listed for the film, I can see how the film will be very successful as Miller's novel can be easily adapted for screen; in fact I think the visual imagery will be more beneficial than the printed word in this case. I'm unsure as to why the novel has 'private' in the title; there is nothing about Pippa's life that is kept private. The main ...  Read the complete review

After reading my first Richard and Judy Summer Read of 2008 and really enjoying it,I reserved another few from the list at my local library as I find books far too expensive to buy these days! Finally, I got an email telling me that this book, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee was ready for collection, and I eagerly started it that evening. I was hopeful that Richard and Judy had picked another good book, and again I wasn't disappointed! Pippa Lee is 50 year old woman happily married to 80 year old husband Herb. The pair have grown-up twins Ben and Grace, and to an outsider, Pippa appears to have it all. But after moving into the local retirement village with ...  Read the complete review

I had not heard of Rebecca Miller before and was given this book - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - by a colleague after she had seen it on the Richard and Judy Summer read list. Therefore I did not really know what to expect when I started this book. It was quite a strange read as it fairly meanders along for about the first fifty pages. We meet Pippa Lee who is aged about fifty and has just moved into a retirement village with her eighty year old husband Herb. At first things feel quite settled although some odd occurrences start to happen and she begins to wonder whether she might be starting to lose her mind. All of this is told in a fairly gentle ...  Read the complete review

I'd heard of the film and hadn't realised it was based on a book so when I saw this book I was intrigued to read it as the film sounded very good indeed. I did enjoy this book although it perhaps wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. The story centres around Pippa Lee who has just moved into a retirement community with her husband, Herb. She is one of the youngest there as although her husbad is in his 80's she is in her 50's. This change in the pace and style of their lives seems to be having a deep impact on Pippa - it is clear from the book that prior to this move they were living a wealthy, well-connected and interesting lifestyle in ...  Read the complete review